


Code A

by Gothic_Lolita



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BAMF Bucky Barnes, Because of Reasons, Crack, Drunk Dialing, ER Nurse!Bucky, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Justin Hammer Is An Abusive Dickbag, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sarcastic Bucky, Tony Feels, Tony Is Still A Genius Billionaire, slight angst, wrong numbers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-30 08:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12104865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothic_Lolita/pseuds/Gothic_Lolita
Summary: Bucky gets a wrong number phone call in the middle of night when all he wanted to do was study his medical textbook. Who could've known how much a misdial could give him?





	Code A

**Author's Note:**

> I am in LOVE with Nurse!Bucky AUs, and they should be commonplace. I just love nurses, they are a level of badass most people can't even comprehend. I got this idea in Piano Lab, because apparently playing piano STRIKES INSPIRATION. Also, Justin Hammer is, and forever shall be, a dick.  
> Take my medical/ER knowledge with a grain of salt, considering I made it all up.

Bucky was quietly studying at two am when his phone rang. He was too tired and busy cramming to check the caller ID, and picked up.

"Hello?" Bucky said, while trying to memorize medical terms.

"Justin, I'm so sorry I dumped you." A voice slurred, thick with alcohol and emotion. "I'm sorry, please take me back. I'm an awful person, I know, but please I promise I can do better. Please take me back." The man on the other end begged.

"Sorry, no Justin here." Bucky said absently. "Though I strongly advise you sober up before you bother with the 'take me back' speech. Makes it seem more sincere, you know." Bucky said with a shrug.

"Oh. Shit. Sorry. Wrong number." The guy mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

"Only thing you should be embarrassed about is calling an ex at the crack ass of dawn with more alcohol in you than a college frat party." Bucky said flatly.

The guy laughed. "Hehe... that was funny. You're funny."

"Mhm. And you're drunk. Get some sleep, Romeo. Your hangover tomorrow will thank you." Bucky replied.

"Don't wanna." The guy pouted. "Wanna call Justin and have him take me back."

"Well, why did you break up with this Justin?" Bucky asked with a sigh.

"Oh. He cheated on me. With at least four other people. That I know of." The guy said, sounding surprised by the question, but nonchalant about the answer.

"Damn. Isn't it usually the cheating asshole who calls at crack ass of dawn begging to be taken back?" Bucky pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess. But it's my fault. If I had been a better boyfriend maybe he wouldn't have cheated." The guy said, his voice small and pitiful.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "That's self depreciative. I don't care how bad of a boyfriend you think you are, that doesn't warrant cheating. It warrants counselling. Just do yourself  a favor and put the liquor down." Bucky ordered firmly.

"It's tequila." He corrected.

"You make it sound like I give a shit."

The guy huffed. "Why am I still on the phone with you?" He demanded.

"You tell me, alcoholic." Bucky shrugged.

"Most people would've hung up by now." The guy said, and there was the sound of swallowing.

"Quite drinking. You're gonna land your ass in a hospital." Bucky evaded the guy's point.

"Meh. Wouldn't be the first time." The disembodied voice responded, followed by more swallowing.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "If you don't stop drinking I will bomb your phone with dinosaur erotica." Bucky warned.

"I'll block you." The guy retorted.

"So I'll steal my best friend's number. And he's a great guy, you'd feel bad about blocking him." Bucky said smoothly.

There was a huff. "Why do you care about me?"

"Because you're drunk off your ass and trying to call your ex and have no one to stop you, so I might as well be that someone." Bucky shrugged.

"Fuck you. I have people." The guy defended.

"Yet here you are. Trying to call a cheating ex." Bucky said, his voice flat.

"You don't know me." The guy defended.

"I could guess a few things. Struggling alcohol addiction, low self esteem and self depreciative. Both point to you having a rough childhood. From the sounds of it, your ex Justin was a shithead, and at the very least verbally abusive if he made you feel like you were a bad boyfriend and cheated on you. So you probably have a history of letting dickheads take advantage of you because you're convinced you don't deserve any better. Am I on the right track?" Bucky droned, his voice analytical. He was a medical major, but he had minored in psychology.

There was a long, bitter pause. "You don't fucking know me." The voice snarled, then there was a click. Bucky sighed. 

 

* * *

 

The second time it happened, it was a few days later and Bucky didn't even have the time to say 'hello'.

"Justin, please take me back. I promise I'll do better. I won't piss you off, won't make you hit me again. I promise, I can do better." The guy begged.

"Still not Justin. Though I'm starting to like this Justin guy less and less." Bucky sighed as he made a sandwich.

"Oh shit. You again." The guy slurred, sounding just as drunk as the first time.

"You should work on your dialing skills." Bucky said in a sarcastic tone. "Also, isn't one pm a bit early to be drunk?"

"Fuck society's standards. I'll be drunk when I want to be drunk." The guy said defiantly.

Bucky chuckled. "You do that, you rebel." He teased.

"Fuck you." Was the smart response Bucky got.

"I'd prefer to wait until you got over ex for that." Bucky shot back, his voice sardonic.

"Very funny."

"I'm hysterical." Bucky shrugged.

"You're an asshole." The guy said with adamance.

"Mhm. Tell it to me when you're sober and I might take it with a grain of salt." Bucky said flatly, biting into his sandwich.

"Why am I still even talking to you?" He whined.

"Fuck if I know." Bucky shrugged.

"You're no help." The guy huffed, and then there was a click.

 

* * *

 

The third time, Bucky was exhausted from working in the ER, still in his scrubs and in the hospital when he picked up.

"Yeah?" Bucky said.

"Fucking shit. I can't believe I keep calling you." The guy groaned.

"At least you sound reasonably more sober this time." Bucky pointed out.

"More of a reason to dial correctly." The guy sighed.

Bucky grunted, shucking off his scrubs. "If it makes you feel any better, my best friend still has a flip phone because he can't operate much besides that. He once accidentally ordered pizza trying to call him mom." Bucky chuckled at the memory.

The other guy laughed a bit. "He sounds like a grandpa." The guy paused. "Jesus, are you stripping? It sounds like you're stripping."

"Yeah, my scrubs. You call me after a shift, you can deal with hearing me take off blood covered clothing." Bucky said in a flat voice.

"You're a doctor?" The guy's voice was curious.

"ER nurse in training. But doctor's the dream." Bucky said, tossing scrubs aside.

"ER? Fucking hell, sounds stressful." The guy's disgust was in his voice, and Bucky could imagine someone wrinkling their nose.

"It is. But it's also rewarding when you have your hands inside of someone, pressing on the right blood vessel to keep them alive, and a few hours later you get to watch them come out of surgery with enough life in them to say thank you." Bucky sighed. There were days he hated the job, but help him god, he wouldn't give it up for the world.

"Aren't you the everyday hero." The guy said with sarcasm dripping from his voice, but there was a layer of sincerity to it.

"You can bet your ass on it." Bucky grinned.

"Ah, hold on." The guy said, and there was a pause. "Shit. Gotta go. My assistant is calling. Well, I mean, technically she's my boss. Technically she's always been telling me what to do, so I guess she's always been my boss. Huh, I was paying that woman to boss me around, so I appointed her my boss. Is that weird? Tell me it's a bit weird." The guy rambled,

"Weird or not, you should probably pick up." Bucky pointed out.

"Shit. Right. Sorry, bye." He said quickly, and hung up.

 

* * *

 

The fourth time, Bucky was making breakfast at eleven am for the entire floor staff of the hospital.

"Okay, I'll admit it, I called you on purpose this time." The guy started before Bucky could say 'hello'.

"Hm, flattered." Bucky said absently.

"You were right about Justin, by the way. He's already got a new side piece." The guy said.

"Damn straight I was." Bucky snorted.

"You're a sassy shit for a nurse." He said.

"Nurse in training." Bucky corrected.

The guy laughed. "And do they teach you the sweet nurse charm in this training?" He teased.

"If they do, I tuned that part out."  Bucky grinned.

"So what's your name, nurse in training?" The guy asked.

"My friends call Bucky." Bucky said, flipping bacon.

"Bucky? That's an awful name." The guy sniffed.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "And is yours any better?"

"Maybe, not sharing it though."

"Why is that?" Bucky inquired, curious.

There was a pause. "Let's say hypothetically my name may or may not be a household name and maybe I want to be able to have a normal conversation like a normal person because hypothetically I never really have before. Everyone tries to take advantage of me and use my to get to my... resources. This is all hypothetical, of course." The guy explained, fumbling over his words.

"I see." Bucky said slowly. "Do I at least get a nickname? Or something to put you in my phone as, since you seem to be calling me purposely now."

There was a pause. "Sure, you can call me... Tetsujin. Yeah, that'll work." He decided.

"Whatever you say, Tetris." Bucky smirked.

"How dare you insult my fake name?" The man gasped dramatically.

Bucky laughed. "Because it's too long to bother pronouncing, Tetris. And you're a lot like Tetris. Wasting my time, but I can't bring myself to be mad at you for it."

The guy -Tetris, Bucking was fucking calling him Tetris- actually chuckled. "I can't argue with that."

"Damn straight." Bucky swore as bacon grease burned his skin. "Look Tetris, I gotta go. I'm cooking for a shitload of people, and no one wants me to fuck up their pancakes. Otherwise I'll go from nurse in training to patient real quick."

Tetris sighed. "Alright, fine. Bye, Bucky." He hung up.

 

* * *

 

The fifth time, Bucky was in the middle of his shift and didn't pick up. He called back a few hours later, once he was home and off his aching feet.

"Wow, I almost thought you forgot about me, Buckeroo." Tetris's voice came through.

Bucky smiled. "Busy shift. Saving lives. You know, having a life. Something that, as someone who has called me as all hours, you don't seem to have." Bucky teased.

"Ouch. What's the medical procedure for a burn? Because you wounded me, Bucky." Tetris said, feigning pain.

"The official medical procedure is growing a pair and deal with it." Bucky said in a factual tone.

Tetris laughed. "Thanks, doc . Glad for the help."

Bucky smiled. "Always glad to help a patient."

There was a deep sigh. "I have a press conference in five minutes." Tetris said, sounding like he dreaded the prospect. Bucky didn't blame him. 

"You should get to that." Bucky advised.

"Yeah, I should." The poor guy sounded genuinely pained, like the  _ **idea**_  of interaction drained him. He sounded like someone who just needed some alone time.

"Bye, Tetris." Bucky said, smiling.

"Bye, Bucky." He hung up.

 

* * *

 

After that, Bucky really lost count. Their conversations got longer and deeper, sometimes Tetris was drunk, sometimes he was sober. Sometimes 'Justin' was mentioned, mostly he wasn't because Tetris tried to avoid things that brought up his low self esteem. Bucky was proud that he seemed to be getting over his asshole of an ex, though. Pretty soon Bucky called first, and they started texting as well. If Tetris was being particularly annoying, Bucky would send dinosaur erotica. Tetris said he was fucked up for having dinosaur erotica on hand. Bucky agreed. They spoke almost daily, even if it was just a few texts a day. Tetris was the first person to get to congratulate Bucky for becoming an official nurse. Bucky had to admit,  he liked the phone calls and texts. Tetris was a great guy, and Bucky wanted to crack him open like a walnut to know him in and out. He was fucking  _ **smart**_ , like genius IQ smart. He was funny, and underneath his attitude, caring. There was even slight teasing and flirting, but Bucky tried his hardest to keep his emotions in check. He wasn't going to take advantage of someone who was still emotionally unavailable from a rough breakup, Bucky was fucking better than that, thank you very much.

  
"Barnes!" A senior doctor shouted. "We've got a guy coming in an ambulance in less than five minutes, assassination attempt, three shots, one critical! Prep a bed station, and you damn well better do it perfect, this is Tony fucking Stark!" 

Bucky nodded and ran. It jaded him a bit that some pretentious snob got better treatment just because he had money to throw around, but now wasn't the time to bitch about social injustices. He had a bay prepped when the EMTs wheeled a bleeding body in.

Bucky had to admit, he felt bad for Tony Stark. The guy had a bullet in his stomach, one in his bicep, and one in his shoulder. Bucky steeled himself, forgetting that he was operating on Tony Stark, forgetting everything around him, focusing only on his patient's survival.

 

A few hours and dozens of patients later, Bucky glanced over and saw Tony Stark in a recovery bay, looking wide awake, but still. Bucky had expected someone like Tony Stark would have hoards of people checking in on him, but the only person in his room was him. Bucky watched as the man pulled out his phone, tapped it, then pressed it to his ear.

Bucky frowned when he felt a vibration against his leg. He slowly pulled his phone out. It was a coincidence. This shit only fucking happened in the movies. It had to be a coincidence. Bucky answered, but before he could speak, the person on the other line did.

"I feel like shit, and I probably look worse." Was Tetris's opening statement. Bucky felt his heart stop when he saw Tony Stark's mouth move with the words. Jesus fucking Christ.

"You do look like shit. You pull it off quite well though." Bucky said, keeping his voice steady with sheer will.

Bucky smiled as he watched Tony Stark blink in confusion. "How the hell would you know what I look like right now?" Tetris - _ **Tony**_ \- said.

Bucky slowly walked over to Tony's room, leaning in the open door frame. "You know, it's the funniest thing. They say you run into people you know at an airport, but I think hospitals are where it's at." Bucky said with a shit eating grin. 

Tony froze, then slowly turned to face the doorway. "Oh. Shit."

Bucky smiled, hanging up his phone and sliding it into his phone as he walked over to Tony's bedside. "I believe that's exactly the first thing you said to me."

"Oh, fuck you." Tony said, but his face was split into a grin.

"I do remember that phrase in our first conversation as well." Bucky teased.

Tony weakly smacked him. "Asshole. I'm Tony Stark, by the way." He said, offering a hand to Bucky, a shine in his eyes.

"Oh, I think I noticed." Bucky accepted his hand. "James Barnes."

Tony was silent a moment. "You're still going to call me Tetris, aren't you?"

"You bet your ass I am." Bucky snorted.

"Asshole." Tony repeated.

"Yep." Bucky said, popping the 'p'. Bucky glanced around. "Shouldn't you have visitors?" He frowned.

Tony was silent a moment. "Maybe. But the only guy I really wanna see is this guy I've been talking to for awhile." Tony said, a glint in his eyes.

Bucky arched an eyebrow, playing Tony's game. "Oh? And who's this guy?"

"Oh, he's a great guy. See, I misdialed the poor son of a bitch a few times drunkenly, and he was surprisingly nice. He kept me from going back to an abusive ex. Then he put up with me constantly calling him, so I guess that was pretty cool. Though he wouldn't stop calling me a video game." Tony wrinkled his nose in mock disgust.

"I see." Bucky said, nodding. "And what do you think of this guy?"

"Oh, I think he's great. Fucking amazing, actually. I don't think he realizes how much he's done for me. He once unknowingly talked to me and made me laughed when I had a gun pressed against my own temple. He's sarcastic, sardonic, funny, but has such a big heart. And he has an amazing face. And you could climb him like a fucking tree. He even manages to rock a man bun and scrubs pretty nicely." Tony rambled, raking his eyes over Bucky's figure.

Bucky's heart hurt at the suicide attempt mention. He made a vow to pay much more attention to Tony. "And if the guy were here right now, what would you want to say to him?" Bucky asked softly.

"I'd... I'd try to tell him how much he's affected me and changed my life, how he's made me a better person. I'd probably turn into a sobbing mess though." Tony said, smiling at his own joke, though his eyes were watering and red.

"Strange, how we met the right people with a single mistake. Even something as small as a misdial." Bucky murmured, brushing a tear off of Tony's cheek.

Tony smiled, laughing a bit. "Yeah, it's fucking weird."

"Very weird." Bucky winked. Bucky slowly leaned forward, going slow enough so Tony could pull away if he wanted to. Instead, Tony pressed forward, closing the gap. The kiss was chaste and short, but perfect in Bucky's book. 

"Jesus Christ, if you two are gonna act out some doctor patient porno, please show me the door." Came a voice in the doorway. Bucky yanked back, and blushed a bit to see a redheaded woman and an African American man standing in the doorway.

"Rhodey, that is disturbing and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking such things." Tony scolded. "And besides, Bucky is a nurse, not a doctor."

The redhead's eyes widened. "This is Bucky? It is so nice to meet you." She smiled. "I'm Pepper Potts, that's James Rhodes. We're Tony's family. He has talked about you nonstop for the past few months, I was wondering if you two were ever going to meet up." She gushed.

"I most certainly have not. Pepper, stop lying. Rhodey, tell Bucky I don't talk about him nonstop." Tony insisted, folding his arms. 

The man only raised an eyebrow. "I don't see a reason to lie to a perfect stranger."

Tony huffed. "They're lying liars and you shouldn't listen to them."

Bucky laughed. "Sure thing, Tetris."

Tony looked like he was going to give a smart response, but a monotoned voice came over the speakers. " _All available medical personnel to ER. All available medical personnel to ER immediately._ " The voice ordered, and Bucky froze, flipping into work mode.

"That can't be good. I have to go." Bucky said, and before Tony could protest, Bucky pulled up his surgical mask and ran to the ER.

 

* * *

 

A few months later, Tony and Bucky were steadily dating. Tony couldn't believe how happy he was. Bucky was beyond perfect, and gave Tony so much more than what he was worth. Even after finding out he was Tony Stark, Bucky just didn't seem to care. He saw Tony for Tony, like some stupid ass romance novel cliche. Tony's heart clenched whenever he thought about the fact that he was dating a man who made him feel like he was a romance novel cliche. He just didn't deserve it.

 

Tony walked through the hospital, glancing around. It looked like the aftermath of a tornado and metaphorically, it was. There had been a bombing at a business that was inside a skyscraper, and took down all twenty stories. Like every other local hospital, Bucky had been swamped for hours, and Tony marvelled his ability to be able to whether such a storm as he walked down the hospital's halls.

Tony found Bucky in the ER, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, elbow propped on one bent knee. His bun was a ragged mess, his scrubs were blood splattered and ash smeared. He was breathing harshly, staring at the ground, his eyes unfocused. It was the type of image that invoked emotion and stirred deep within people. The type of thing you'd see on the front of a magazine talking about everyday heroes. Tony just saw his boyfriend who needed a shower, a massage, and a good night's sleep. And maybe a blowjob somewhere in there too.

"Hey, soldier." Tony said gently, making Bucky glance up.

"Hey, Tetris." Bucky mustered a pained smile. Tony smiled. Bucky still fucking called him that.

"How many you'd lose today?" Tony asked softly, looking around.

There was the thunk of Bucky's head hitting the wall. "Too many." He sighed.

Tony smiled. "And how many did you save?" It was a thing he did whenever Bucky worried he wasn't doing everything in his power to save every patient. Remind him how the lives he had lost compared to the lives to had saved. The odds always added up.

Bucky forced a smile. "A lot."

"Exactly." Tony offered a hand. "Come on, soldier. Let's get you home." Bucky grunted as he accepted Tony's hand and was pulled to his feet.

"Fucking christ, I don't think I can even feel my feet anymore." Bucky groaned as he leaned against Tony for support. 

"I know, _tesoro_. I know. Come on. We'll order a pizza and take a bath together and watch some shitty movie." Tony promised. 

"That sounds fucking great." Bucky moaned as they staggered through the hospital back into the parking lot.

They got to Tony's car, and Tony was about to open the door for Bucky, when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Tony! Tony, love!" Justin's voice called out. Tony tensed.

"Go away, Hammer." He said, his hands shaking.

"Tony, come on, don't be like that. I've been looking for you." Justin said, his voice fakely sweet.

Tony turned around, facing him. "And how the hell did you even find me?" Tony demanded.

Justin shrugged innocently. "I tracked your car." He said as though it were something to be proud of.

"What do you want?" Tony asked, voice terse.

"Well, I've been thinking. And I think that it's about time you and I got back together. I'm willing to take you back and forget your past mistakes so we can build a better future." Justin said, with a patronizing tone that said he believed this to be the such a gracious mercy offer to Tony.

Bucky growled, and before Tony could stop him, he stomped forward, until he was inches away from Justin. "I have been in the goddamned ER for fucking hours treating  _ **hundreds**_  of patients. My feet hurt, I smell like morphine, I'm covered in god know's whose blood, and I'm fucking tired. So if you and your abusive ass think you can parade over here and take my fucking boyfriend away from me, you've got another thing coming." Bucky snarled, folding his arms.

Justin gave Bucky a quick once over. "Tsk. You can do so much better than whatever this thing is that the cat dragged in." He sniffed with disdain.

Bucky reached forward and snatched Justin's neck, squeezing it. "Oh yeah? With who, you? The abusive dickhed who used him?" He demanded. "You know I think I got enough good karma with all the lives I've saved just _ **today**_  to make up for ending yours." Bucky growled, cutting off Justin's air supply.

"Bucky, no!" Tony scolded, yanking him off of Justin. "Hey hey hey, look at me. You're tired, and upset. But that doesn't excuse murder. Deep breaths,  _tesoro_." He soothed.

Bucky slowly seemed to regain his composure. He glanced at Justin again. "Stalk him, touch him, try to contact him, so much as fucking _ **look**_  at him, and I'm going to get you sent to the ER, and make damned sure you get the worst service." Bucky warned, before letting Tony herd him into the car. Tony slid into the car, and smiled to see Justin pale and frozen in horror.

"You can't actually make sure someone gets the worst service at an ER, can you?" Tony asked curiously as he started the car.

"Actually, yes." Bucky grinned deviously. "We have an official code in the ER, sure,  but we have an unofficial one too. If you ever hear a nurse said 'code A', patient's assume it means they're at the front of the line, because 'A' is at the beginning of the alphabet. But really, it means code Asshole, and nurses and doctors go out of their way to put them at the end of the line for everything." Bucky shrugged.

Tony blinked. "That... that is brilliant, actually."

"Damn straight, Tetris." Bucky grinned.

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm so done with that nickname."

"I'm not, Tetris." Bucky teased.

"You're sleeping on the fucking couch." Tony declared.

Bucky snorted. "Please, like you would make me sleep on the couch after a day like that. Your conscience wouldn't let you. Besides, even if it did, you're a billionaire. Your couch is more comfortable than most  _ **beds**_." He pointed out.

Tony glared sideways at him. "Asshole."

"You know it."

 

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, tesoro is an Italian endearment. But does anyone know what Tetsujin means? :D I used it A, because what it means and it's reference to canon, and B, the thought of Bucky calling Tony Tetris was hysterical in my head.  
> Also, dinosaur erotica was the most random thing I could come up with, and I think I got as random as it fucking gets. Yay.  
> This was so much longer than I thought it'd be, holy shit.


End file.
